New Delhi, Jan 30 (IANS) Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, paid a visit to the Bahawalpur garrison earlier this week, in what was painted to be a routine inspection. Officials tracking Pakistan, however, say that this had nothing to do with the army and its operations at the garrison, but was aimed at boosting the morale of the Jaish-e-Mohammad.
Bahawalpur is the home to the Jaish, and it had its headquarters here before it was razed to rubble during Operation Sindoor.
Since the operation that was carried out by the Indian armed forces to avenge the Pahalgam attack, the morale of the Jaish has been down.
What has rattled the Pakistan army is the absolute lack of will by the Jaish to even attempt regrouping.
During the operation, along with scores of terrorists, many family members of the Jaish-e-Mohammad’s chief, Masood Azhar, too had been killed. This has left the top leadership dejected, and hence, no attempt is being made to regroup.
For the Pakistan army, the Jaish-e-Mohammad is an important outfit as it is capable of carrying out major attacks. When compared to the other terror groups, this terror outfit has a much more committed force, and hence, having them in action is important for the Pakistan establishment.
An Intelligence Bureau official said that the top leadership of the Jaish is upset with both the ISI and the Pakistan army.
Despite reaching out to the top leadership, the likes of Azhar have not been too receptive. The leadership feels that the army failed to protect them. Further, they are also upset that the army did not retaliate and instead reached out to India for a ceasefire during Operation Sindoor, the official said.
While the visit was meant to boost the morale of the Jaish, Munir also took part in events meant to showcase Pakistan’s technological advancements. He witnessed demonstrations involving electronic-warfare systems, surveillance assets and drones.
During his address, he spoke about mental transformation on several occasions. This was to boost both the terror groups and his own army, whose reputation is at stake today.
Pakistan watchers say that the message that Munir sought to send out is clearly to the Jaish. The showcasing of modern technology and the talk about mental transformation had a clear message, as this was meant to reassure the Jaish that the Pakistan Army is capable of protecting them.
In the run-up to this event, several army officials had tried to wake the Jaish leadership out of their slumber. The visit by Munir clearly shows that his men have failed to convince the outfit. The desperation was clear when Munir himself had to strategically choose Bahawalpur to boost the morale of the Jaish leadership, the experts say.
Officials say that Asim Munir did try and protect his visit to Bawahalpur as a routine one to a corps headquarters. This place is not just politically important, but ideologically too. The ideology of the Jaish flows from this place, and it has had a long history of planning and launching strikes against India from here. The manner in which the Indian armed forces hit this place during Operation Sindoor has not just rattled the Jaish, but even the establishment.
It has become more of a prestige issue for the army and especially Munir, and hence he decided to undertake this visit, officials say.
–IANS
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